This Day in 1912 in The Record: Nov. 16, 1912

Saturday, Nov. 16, 1912. "At last the green flag of the holy war has been officially lifted," The Record's Religious Rambler writes, "The dread threat which has terrorized Christendom for a thousand years has been fulfilled."

In response to an invasion of the Ottoman Empire by a coalition of Balkan states, the Sheikh ul-Islam, the empire's "highest ecclesiastical official," has declared a "jehad," as the term was spelled by Americans in 1912. Supposedly, "Moslems mist fight against Christians to the death, and if they fall in the fighting they have the surest, swiftest road to the delights of the Moslem paradise."

As the Rambler, our weekend religion columnist, observes, "There has been no more romantic delusion entertained in civilized centers for centuries than this one of the potency of the holy war which the sultan of Turkey or his representative, the Sheikh ul-Islam, have power to declare. Visions of an uprising of all Moslem subjects, all over the earth, is a nightmare of European statesmen."

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The Ottoman sultan is regarded as the heir of the authentic Islamic caliphate by many Sunni Muslims. No person or office has comparable authority in 21st century Islam.

The Rambler believes that fears of a global Muslim uprising are mostly groundless. Most Muslim countries are ruled by European powers, while the Muslim residents of the Philippines are governed by the United States, and most Muslims live far from Turkey. Instead of rebellions breaking out in these countries, or jihadists rushing to Turkey, "What actually will happen as a consequence of the formal and official declaration of a holy war ... is the massacre of Christians in remote communities throughout the empire," the columnist predicts.

Worldwide, "The jehad has lost its terrors with the passage of time. Civilization is too complicated for the simple passion of vengeance and religious fanaticism to have free sway." In the future, "Whatever victories the faith of the prophet wins must be won by spiritual and intellectual weapons."

RPI FOOTBALL. Hosting heavily-favored Norwich today, the RPI football team "played the best game it has shown this season," our sportswriter reports. The "Cherry and White" eleven claims a moral victory by sending Norwich home with a scoreless tie.

Defense dominates the game. "The local players outshone their opponents in tackling, the work of the Cherry and White players being deadly in a great majority of cases." The RPI defense saves the game after an interception return puts Norwich on the home three-yard line. A goal-line stand forces the visitors to give the ball up on downs. RPI's last drive just crosses midfield as time expires.